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Accidents

Critical Skills: What we know from accident research

Riding requires five times more motor-skills development than driving a car. Risk management and risk reduction are critical components of proficient motorcycle operation. Basic (self-taught) riding experience alone is not enough for effective risk management.

Most of the data below comes from a USC/DOT research study of more than 900 motorcycle accidents. For a more comprehensive understanding, look online for: Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors and Identification of Counter Measures (also known as the “Hurt Report”).

92 percent of these riders had no formal training, were mostly self-taught or taught by friends, but they had, on average, 2.5 years of riding experience.

75 percent of the motorcycle accidents involved another vehicle, typically a car.

66 percent of the time, the driver of the other vehicle violated the rider’s right of way. “I never saw the motorcycle,” was the most common explanation.

66 percent of motorcycle-only accidents were due to rider errorin a turn, typically caused by over-braking or running wide on a curve.

50 percent of these accidents happened within the first six minutes.

Average pre-accident speed was less than 30 mph!

Riders’ failure to perceive what was developing in the distance was their most significant contribution to these accidents.

The average time riders had to detect and react to the hazard which created the accident was less than TWO SECONDS!

MOST riders lacked significant collision-avoidance skills, often skidding the rear tire while under-utilizing the front brake.

Counter-steering, a skill critical for swerving and cornering, was essentially absent.

HAZARDS per mile: On the freeway, the average was 17 per mile. In city riding, hazards averaged 237 per mile!